In 1924 was founded the Getafe Foot-ball Club, only plays in lower divisions since 1928 to 1932. After the Spanish Civil War, in 1945, when five Getafe locals, Enrique Condes García, Aurelio Miranda Olavaria, Antonio Corridor Lozano, Manuel Serrano Vergara and Miguel Cubero Francés, decided to form a team of the area while meeting at the "La Marquesina" bar. Officially founded on February 24, 1946, the club was named Club Getafe Deportivo.[1]

The club originally played in Campo del Regimiento de Artillería, which lacked goal posts. Shortly after, the club moved to San Isidro, housed in the current Municipal Sports Center of San Isidro. Here, Club Getafe was promoted to the third division following their victory against CP Villarrobledo in the 1956/57 season. Getafe was nearly promoted to the Segunda during 1957/58, but was defeated by C.D. Almería.[2]

On September 2, 1970, the club inaugurated its own stadium after being promoted back to the Tercera División. Presided by chairman Francisco Vara, Las Margaritas was won a 3–1 victory over Michelín. The team survived in the third level that season, and six years later gained a historic promotion to second division.[3]

Club Getafe Deportivo played six seasons in the Segunda División (Second Division), with little success. From 1976–1982, they placed below tenth level all six years.

In 1978, they advanced to play against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey Round of 16. Playing at home in the first leg, Getafe drew with a star-studded Barcelona team 3–3, before travelling away for the Second Leg and being thrashed 8–0 at the Nou Camp.

At the conclusion of the 1981/82 season, players having not been paid, Getafe was automatically relegated and subsequently liquidated.

Meanwhile, on September 1, 1976, a new club was founded in the National Sports Council and the Regional Federation of Castille. The club was called Peña Madridista Getafe (the Real Madrid supporter's club of Getafe). This club played for four seasons in various divisions, until taking the name Club Deportivo Peña Getafe, and played under this name for a further two seasons. On July 10, 1982, they joined forces with the much older Club Getafe Promesas, and were registered again in the Regional Federation of Castille.[4]

Based on the merger the previous year, the present Getafe Club de Fútbol was officially founded on July 8, 1983, after passing through the general partners assembly.[4]

Starting in the regional leagues in 1983/84, Getafe was promoted for four consecutive seasons until reaching Segunda División B. The club started a new period with its promotion into Segunda in 1994/95, staying only two years.[5] Threatening absolute disappearance just a few years later in 1997, Getafe survived relegation into the fourth level Tercera División following a two-legged playoff victory over Huesca.

Returning to the second division for 1999/00, Getafe lasted another two seasons. One year later, however, they would return, following an amazing promotion during 2001/02 during which one of their players, Sebastián "Sebas" Gómez, was murdered, and controversy regarding unpaid payments of players following a debt of 3 million euros.[7]

Getafe play at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez, located in Getafe. Its pitch dimensions are 105x70 metres. The stadium was inaugurated on January 1, 1998, named after the Spanish international (and of Real Madrid fame) Alfonso Pérez. Though he never played for or against Getafe, or even in the stadium, he is perhaps the most famous footballer to come out of the area and was at the height of his career during the mid-1990s.[6]

Before playing in the Coliseum, Getafe played their home matches at the nearby Estadio de las Margaritas, part of the greater Sports City of Las Margaritas. The Coliseum was subsequently built as a natural extension to the much smaller facilities at Las Margaritas. Since its foundation, the stadium has had numerous renovations, and now seats 14,400 people and several thousand more standing. As such, the exact capacity of the is variable and ambiguous. Getafe generally fill the stadium for local matches against Real and Atlético Madrid, as well as against Barcelona, most famously in the 2006–07 Cup semifinal. For the first time in their history, Getafe pre-sold out the whole of the Coliseum before their Second Leg match against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup Quarter-final.[27]

Getafe president Ángel Torres expressed interest in upgrading the Coliseum to a much greater 20,000 seat arena, in conjunction with Madrid's bid for the 2012 Olympic Games.[28] The failure of this bid and poor crowd averages put this redevelopment in doubt.

Getafe use the nearby Sports City when training. These facilities include several training pitches with both grass and artificial turf, full medical rooms and recuperation facilities.

Commonly called Marea Azul, or Azulones, Getafe supporters have steadily grown to their team. The team has 18 peñas (supporter clubs), and 12,000 socios (associates). Former Real Madrid player Francisco Pavón is a well-known Getafe associate, while Fernando Alonso and Rafael Nadal have attended matches at the Coliseum in the past.

Getafe supporters have grown far beyond the area and are now known to have fans in Australia, Sweden, Finland, Argentina, Scotland, Denmark, United States and Mexico. In 2007, a peña was founded in Venezuela to extend the worldwide club reach.

Getafe also created controversy in 2007 when their season ticket campaign included biblical references of Abraham, Moses and Jesus sacrificing themselves for the team. The club responded by withdrawing the first scene involving Abraham.

Upon important or famous victories, Getafe fans celebrate at the Cibelina statue in the town centre. Prior to the 2007 Cup final, Torres implored the fans to "tear down the Cibelina" upon victory, promising to pay for a new design. During that final, thousands of supporters rushed to get tickets and packed into the Santiago Bernabéu, yet were vastly outnumbered by Sevillistas. However, those who failed to get tickets – most of which went to season ticket holders for the 2007/08 campaign – were able to watch the match on a big screen in Getafe's central square.

Getafe has also a small group of Ultras supporters, called Comandos Azules. (Blue commandos).

Historically, due to their close geographical position, Getafe has always held a strong rivalry with Leganés. They played out numerous encounters in the lower division, before the two teams fortunes began to contrast as Getafe gained ascendency and Leganés began to deteriorate.

In the first division, the side has held some tremendous matches in the last few years with Real Madrid, with the ledger being most recently squared at 3 wins each. Real Madrid's greater stature, budget and squad has never stopped Getafe from often playing their best football against their "bigger brother".

In addition to this, Getafe has developed somewhat of a rivalry with Barcelona, which culminated in their famous 4–0 victory over their more fancied opponents during the 2006–07 Copa del Rey semi-final. Also, Valencia has succumbed numerous times to el Geta, often quite heavily, as was the case during the 2006–07 Copa del Rey, which ensured Getafe's first ever appearance in the Copa's quarter-finals with a 2–4 win at the Mestalla. This result was turned around in the 2008 Copa del Rey final, however, as Valencia would deny Getafe their first ever trophy with a 3–1 victory. This rivalry is propped up healthily by the regular transfer of Getafe players (and coach Quique Sánchez Flores) to Valencia.

Getafe wear their traditional blue strip. Small strips of white and red also tend to be incorporated in their kit. Generally, their away strip is red, however this has changed in recent years. Their shirt manufacturer is Joma.